After a day of sulking I decided to get a grip, regroup and ask for advice. I have been doing No S for about 3 months. I lost weight the first month. 3lbs., but I have not lost anything the last 2 months. I could really get down about this but I am asking for advice instead. My first inclination is to give up but I can't go back to counting calories. The thought depresses me. I hope to gain some insight into the problem from any of you veterans out there. Thank you
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-systems-podcast/id188988881?mt=2

Dear Petertohen - 1st, congratulations on 3 months of practising No S and maintaining your weight for 2 months. This gives you a base to build on.

Second, how is your compliance on N days. How wild are your S days.

Third - assuming your compliance is terrific on N days, and your S days are already moderate, then it is time to look for some small changes you can make that you can see yourself doing successfully and permanently. To help in identifying where those changes could be, you could ask yourself some questions such as

are you hungry at mealtimes
do you often feel overfull after eating
do you often drink caloric drinks between meals
do you have a soda habit
do you mostly eat nutritious food, or do you eat a lot of fast food and highly processed food
does alcohol often influence your food choices
do you do any exercise

These questions (and others like them) can help you find any excess. If you eliminate excess food, eat a nutritious diet most of the time and do some exercise, you will go a long way to losing excess weight._________________Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

I think Ladybird had good questions. Probably sticking to the 3 plates a day is the biggest thing for me in the weeks I've lost weight, and ideally, drinking just water, coffee, or tea.

Once you have that down, look at what's on your plate during the week.

If your three plates of food are overflowing or if they are mostly fried food or heavy food, can you fill more of your plate with a fruit or a veggie?

Can you sub in a couple of healthier meal choices a few times a week? If your normal lunch is a chicken parm sandwich (which I just ate, lol), could you choose vegetarian chili or veggie soup and bread a few times next week? Something with fiber and some vitamins. Little swaps like that can be great and not so hard to maintain. I would not try to do it all at once. Maybe still have your favorite lunch sometimes, but just mix it up with something healthier on other days?

Even when I am not exercising, No S seems to be enough for me to lose weight slowly and steadily (about half a pound a week, 2 lbs per month).

The habit calendar (accessible at the top of this page) is a good way to track your compliance. It can give you insight when you look back._________________I'm a 49-year-old mom and non-profit CEO
I am 5' 7.5"
Began No S at 184#, BMI 28.4 - 9/25/2017
Current weight 168#, BMI 25.9- 11/18/2018

Good questions from others! I do think it's good to take a closer look at habits and see what you might be able to tweak (if needed). Sometimes it's just a matter of backing off slightly on plate size. If you regularly feel "stuffed," you may need a slightly smaller or less-full plate so that you are just "comfortably full" instead.

It's not unusual to have some months where you don't lose though. No-S is not like other diets where you might lose fast (but they are not sustainable and you gain it all back--and maybe more--as soon as you quit). It's about making long-term, sustainable changes to how you eat. You definitely can lose on No-S, but it's not fast or flashy losses (for me it's usually 1-2 lbs. a month, but I've also had a number of months with no losses too). Hang in there! Hopefully you can find the right thing to tweak to get you back on the path to losing again!_________________Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

I would also like to know what percentage of your weight 3lbs. is (you can tell me separately), how long you've been as overweight as you are, and what you think your "worst" habit was before No S.

Also, you've said you don't want to count calories. No problem understanding that here! However, when you think about what you might be willing to change, what seems reasonable to you? Though you may think you want to lose faster, there might be some tradeoffs that would leave you feeling as miffed as calorie counting. Unless you are very good at not letting resentment take over, be patient with yourself about trying new mods. It's usually more useful to have reached a point at which there is something else about the lifestyle that has become unsatisfying besides not losing weight to be able to make the changes for the long run. Those unsatisfying things are the most logical first targets.

Be as calm and curious as you can!_________________Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2